


Like Gold Running Through My Veins

by ChaseDawg12



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I want canonical couple content, Really just a mountain of fluff, Romantic Fluff, SPOP spoilers, She Ra Season 5 spoilers, She Ra spoilers, Spoilers, Why did they have to sail as it ended, i love these two dorks so much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24263764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaseDawg12/pseuds/ChaseDawg12
Summary: ***PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5 OF SHE RA AHEAD EVEN IN THIS SUMMARY SO KEEP SCROLLING IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS***Adora and Catra have been through a lot in life, both together and apart. But these past few years, they've been indescribable, as if it were a dream. And at one point, it actually is. An old dream in fact, as Adora finds herself reliving moment for moment the vision she had as she was slipping away on that one fateful day. Did she truly deserve to see her dream become her reality?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	1. The Realization of a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! For those of you who do know me, specifically those of you who follow my White Rose content and even more specifically those of you I used to talk to in the WR discord, hi yes it's me, am still alive and well and still writing, just sporadically. If you're from that discord hmu I'm down to come back I just kinda took a break from Discord but now I'm back, and yeah eventually when I have inspiration I'll be doing more WR
> 
> If you DON'T know me, as most of you will not as this is my first time attempting fan fiction for this ship, hi, I'm Chase. I'm a straight guy who apparently loves lesbian ships, specifically those of the very specific "outgoing character who is pretty much the show's namesake is friends from practically the start with cold hearted character who warms up to everyone but ESPECIALLY aforementioned outgoing character" trope, because yeah that pretty much describes both WR and Catradora. Hopefully you guys like my work as much as the WR people seem to like my WR work!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora literally had everything she dreamed of, but she's not sure if she deserves it. Catra believes otherwise. Can she convince Adora to see things her way?

Adora stood there staring at her reflection in her bedroom waterfall, her white dress for the evening adorned with gold and flowing not unlike the fountain before her. She had an eerie feeling about today. It felt like she had been here before, but not in a good way. There couldn’t have been anything wrong, right? Horde Prime along with his minion clones and their mind control had been gone for a couple of years at this point. She hadn’t been tormented by any lasting effects of him or his virus, but here she was, standing there, concerned with this moment all the same. Had she been here before? She couldn’t have. Glimmer and Bow had gotten this brand new waterfall installed for her birthday just two weeks ago. Why did this moment feel so… artificial?

The door suddenly burst open and Catra and Glimmer barged through.

“Just let me  _ brush it! _ ”

“No!” Catra yelled as they both ran around the room giggling. She was still getting used to these two ex-rivals getting along so remarkably well.

“Don’t let her touch me, she’s gonna torture me.”

“Do you  _ always _ have to be  _ this _ dramatic?”

“C’mon guys,” King Bow, a title she would’ve never believed she'd be saying a couple of years ago, exclaimed while walking in on the playful disagreement, “if we’re late to Scorpia’s first ball, she’s gonna kill us.”

“ _Fine_ , you’re off the hook… _this time_.” Glimmer remarked while Catra proceeded to stick her tongue out at the queen of Brightmoon. Everything about this seemed so right and so normal in this post-Horde world, but yet something felt so wrong at the same time. Why? Everyone looked so happy. Everything looked so right. Everything was at peace. So why was there some sort of painful deja vu type feeling eating her up from the inside right now?

Everyone slowly proceeded to walk out of the room besides her. Catra slowed down immediately, looked back at her true love, stuck an arm out, and stared longingly at her best friend who miraculously happened to become the love of her life over time. The few moments spent moving her arm out felt like an eternity to the lover of the most popular person on the planet, or at least it felt like it to her, thinking about all the time that had passed. Friends, rivals, friends again, now a couple. It felt… amazing, perhaps indescribable. It made her feel special or rare, as if gold was running through her veins. She felt happier than she ever thought it was even possible to be, and as she stared at the one thing that gave her life true joy and meaning, she didn’t know what to say.

“You coming?” was all she managed to get out of her brain.

Adora stood there for a moment, maybe even two, three, ten, it didn’t matter to her or Catra. That weird gut feeling was gone. She knew this was right. She knew true happiness, and this moment was the personification of that. Everything was ok. Everything was right. She had everything she could ever have dreamed of, despite never even thinking about this possibility as a reality. She reached out to grab her soulmate’s hand.

Then, she remembered.

_ A beautiful wish, but there will be no future. Not for you. _

Her hand twitched back with a faint crunch as she flinched as more and more voices and images from  _ that day _ kept flashing in front of her eyes. She didn’t know what was happening to her, she had never had these flashbacks before, not even in the short term after the day it happened, but they kept getting more and more painful. Shadow Weaver’s sacrifice, saying bye to her Best Friends Squad, Bow and Glimmer, for what she thought would very realistically have been the very last time, Catra and life slowly slipping away from her…

“No!” she screamed. She ran to her bedside and had barely made it on there before she collapsed into a heap on the edge and began to cry relentlessly.

“Adora!” 

Catra ran to the side of her world. During the few moments together as friends in the Horde where it was she who had to help to comfort Adora, a true rarity, she learned that the best way to comfort her was to wrap herself around Adora as much as she could and hug her. This, in fact, was one of the first things that made Adora love Catra as more than just a buddy to play and grow up with. She was… comfort… security, something she lacked a lot of otherwise no matter how many friends she had made as Adora or as She Ra in the past few years. But now, the comfort was back, and it was helping her calm down again, but she was still upset about the issue at hand…that was existing to her at least.

“Heyyy Adora… what’s wrong, love?”

“I’m not supposed to be here.”

“That’s nonsense, this is our roo-”

“No, Catra, I’m being serious. I’m not supposed to be alive and happy and having everything right now. I’m not supposed to be the hero who saved the entire planet and then went on and lived to tell about the experience.”

“Adora, I…”

“In the Heart of Etheria, before… everything happened… when I was slipping away right in front of you… in your arms... god, I’m so sorry you had to see and experience that… anyways, in that moment that I was out, I had a vision. The vision that occured was literally what just transpired moment for moment. The brush, the running, the teasing, the Bow, the tongue. All of it, to the very last detail. And, like how reality transpired, you asked me if I was coming with that really cute look on your face that you had and your arm stuck out, anticipating it to be held soon by mine, and I wanted to oblige. So, I went to grab your hand after you asked if I was coming, and I almost had it in my hand, but then…”

“But then... what, Adora?”

“Then… your hologram glitched out… and… and Prime showed up in front of it and he told me about how there wouldn’t be a happy ending for me… I wasn’t supposed to be here right now. I was supposed to be sacrificed. I don’t deserve this. Any of this. At all. I’m not the hero. You’re the reason I’m still here. I was weak. YOU deserve all the fame and notoriety. I-” she cut herself off as she started hyperventilating.  _ Was all of this true? Did she truly deserve nothing? Why were these feelings just coming out of her now? Had she really suppressed these feelings and doubts and insecurities inside of her for years? Why was she actually still here? Why- _

“Adora, get a hold of yourself, please? Where is all of this coming from? You’ve been so confident in yourself ever since… ever since that day happened. It’s been years since that all happened. You’re still here, Adora...”

“Yeah, Catra, I can see that, but wh-”

“Shhh, let me finish, love. Think about it like this, the failsafe happened to be love, was it not? So, if you didn’t love me back, you wouldn’t have even been sacrificed. We’d just be dead, you goof. But we’re not and you’re still here, thanks mostly to you. You still have your life. You still have your friends. You still have your horse. Your powers. Your fans. Your adoration and fame. Heck, you even still have… lil old me… whatever that means to you,” she said, knowing full well her Adora would make a remark about how she was everything to her and how special she was and fall right into her trap. This was another comforting technique of hers, this one learned during the past few years or so as a couple. Comforting or complimenting Catra always seemed to in turn provide some sort of happiness and comfort to Adora. It was like, in an indirect sort of way, she was comforting herself. It was like Catra herself was in some way a part of Adora, like they were two parts of a whole being, like they were…truly in actuality each other’s eternal soulmates. Not just best friends, not just a close couple… but actual two souls meant to be together forever.

She lost her train of thought pondering over this possibility, or perhaps even realization, that they were exponentially way more than just friends, just lovers or even just a couple who truly loved each other. That she had found something she had previously thought was merely just a myth when she was a mere pawn for the Horde. She kept thinking deeper and deeper about this topic. That was, until she heard her plan to comfort Adora go into effect.

“ _ Whatever that means to you? _ Catra, these past couple years have made me realize that I don’t need those things at all. To be truly happy, all I need is you. Well, and my life… kinda can’t enjoy you if I’m dead.” This drew a strong laugh out of both of them as they lay there like a couple of dorks, like they’ve always been together in such a beautiful, perfect way.

“Ugh, you’re _such_ an idiot.” Catra said, still chuckling a bit. “But, there, you just proved my point before I could finish making it. You didn’t see that vision in your barely conscious state because life was trying to tell you that you don’t deserve it. That was Prime and his virus hacking in trying to mess with your psyche. What it was supposed to be was you _actually_ listening to me for once. You saw what you wanted. Not what you ‘needed’ to do for the universe. Sure, maybe you actually _DID_ need to, otherwise we would all be dead. But, hey, this is my comforting session. I make no concessions!”

She stopped to laugh harder. 

"Anyways, you saw a glimpse of what you wanted. And, in typical you fashion, you lived and you fought and you got it, apparently down to the last detail. But I wouldn’t have put it past you if I knew that was a possibility, love. You truly were an extraordinary find and an eternally amazing person.” she said, trying not to cry while also wiping the last tears away from Adora’s precious face.

“You really mean that?”

“Yes, you idiot, I mean it”

They both just sat there, admiring every little thing about each other.

“Ok, but that doesn’t explain why you don’t get any of the credit at all. Your love saved me. Our love saved this planet, not just me. Why am I the only one praised as a hero? You-”

“Adora, you know me. You know I don’t just take a free spotlight handed to me that could fade at any time. I don’t like disappointment. I grind and manipulate-well, maybe not as much manipulation now that I’m non-contractually obligated to be a ‘good guy’ and do ‘good guy’ things-my way to the top and stay there. Also, they’re still uneasy about the whole ‘she’s an ex-Horde force captain’ thing. You had the benefit of stumbling upon the power of being She Ra which helped clear your name faster than mine’s gonna be, especially after some of the things I’ve done. You know all of this, so why are you so suddenly fixated on this ‘Catra needs the attention’ kick?”

“Because… because… because I want everyone to view you the way I do, ok?! I want everyone to see you as my world. They look at you now, they see you as the one who turned good and contributed to pushing us over the edge versus Prime and his clones, as a minor hero, and that’s great! That’s… great… but it’s not  _ nearly _ enough! You’re the one who saved She Ra. You’re the one who said those words first. Without you, our then unknown shared love would never have saved the universe. And even then, even if they recognized you for the true role you played in the conquering of Prime, it wouldn’t be enough.” 

Tears started to form on both their faces.

“Adora… Adora, what do you m-”

“You’re even more than just a hero of a literal universal war, Catra. You’re my… I don’t even know… it’s so indescribable. You’re just everything. Seeing you every morning gives me warmth. Snuggling to sleep with you every night as you purr in my arms gives me indescribable comfort. You make me feel even more special than She Ra ever could, like there’s gold running through my veins or something. Every moment I spend with you is tied for the third best moment of my life, tied with all the other moments I’ve spent with you and only stands behind meeting you and the moment we finally realized us two dorks loved each other.”

“A...Ado-...Adora…” 

For once in her life, Catra had no smug face, no wisecrack, no angry rant, nothing. Nothing to hide her feelings, no feelings to hide anymore… this was a whole new emotional experience, and it was choking her up.

“I… I don’t know what to say… Adora, I-...”

“Don’t say anything at all then, my lo-”

“No babe, that… was the nicest thing ANYONE has EVER said to me, and I have to speak my mind in return. It’s only fair. Adora, I… as I was falling in love with you, I already knew I could never repay you. All the times you comforted me, helped me, protected me… you were so kind, too kind. But now, here we are and you happen to love me as much as I love you, feel the same way I do about you, and you just shower me with joy and compliments and support… what did I ever do to deserve you, Adora?”

“Be yourself.”

“Even after all I did to your friends… after all I did to you?”

“Of course, you were doing what you thought was right, what you thought you wanted. Now you know what truly is right and no one was ever truly harmed, so I consider that enough to forgive you.”

They both gave a little loving chuckle before embracing each other in a quiet understanding and acceptance that they truly both meant something more and something special to the other, that they both felt the same way about each other. After a short while, Adora cracked a beautiful idea to cap off this beautiful moment.

“Catra, I know the timing seems a little off, and this isn’t exactly the atmosphere in which I figured this would go down, but this moment just feels too special and too right and just... I have a very important question to ask you.” She rushed off the bed and brushed her hand along the very top shelf of their closet. 

_ Where in the world is it? _

“Um, does it have anything to do with you dusting off our top shelf?”

“No, you dork, just looking for something.” 

_ Nope, not in any of the dresser drawers… did I not leave it in here? _

“What are you looking for? Maybe I can help.”

“No, no, I think I know where it is.” 

_ Ah yes, I put it right behind the...why are there little footprints back here? And why is it missing?  _

_...Imp… _

“Ah, here it is.” Adora had pulled one of her tiaras out of one of her drawers to hide the fact she couldn’t find the real item she was looking for.

“Sooo… what’s the question, Adora?”

“What? Oh, yes!” she exclaimed, as she was quickly texting Bow:

**_where is Imp??_ **

“What I’ve been meaning to ask you is-” *bzz bzz* “sorry babe, I promise right after this one quick thing.”

**_Him and Kyle left for Scorpia’s like 20 min ago._ **

**_Why?_ **

**_Where are you guys?_ **

**_well we’ll need to find him at the party_ **

**_he took IT while I wasn’t looking_ **

**_maybe he hid it somewhere here idk. I’ll ask Kyle_ **

**_gimme like 15_ **

“I’m so sorry babe. Anyways, what I was gonna ask you is… are you ready to party harder than you’ve ever partied before?!”

Catra just stared at her, then smiled, then laughed. “Ughh,  _ again _ , you’re  _ such _ an  _ idiot _ . Adora, the only princess ball I’ve ever been to was the one me and Scorpia tried to sabotage, and besides that you know the Horde didn’t believe in any form of legitimate party. So yes, Adora, I’m ready to party harder than ever before, because I have never partied before in my life, so any partying is more partying than I’ve ever done before.”

“Ah yes, the party rookie. I’m gonna have to show you the ropes and teach you the basics… honey.”

“Ugh, you know I hate partner nicknames like that.” Catra said while hiding a blush, not so secretly liking partner names like that. “If we ever get married, are you gonna be one of those people who introduces me as her ex-girlfriend. You’re corny enough already in this relationship that I could totally see you doing it!”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. We’ll have to see when we reach that point, shall we?”

All Catra could let out was a happy sigh.

“Ok Adora, I’m gonna go use our restroom real quick. Maybe Glimmer was right. Maybe I should brush it up a little bit. Besides, you know even though it’s her ball it’s my tradition to always have to outshine Scorpia in any manner I possibly can. It’s a habit of mine that I’m quite proud of.”

“Alright, Kitty Kat, just don’t take too, too long. You know how much grief we’re gonna get the whole ball if we somehow show up later than Seahawk and Mermista considering Seahawk will probably prolong their journey with another ‘Travelling with the Love of My Life ADVENTURE’ shanty.”

“Haha, no kidding, and don’t forget that Hordak and Entr-wait… Kitty Kat?”

“I dunno, just came to me.”

She blushed again. “I hate you.”

“Love you too, Kitty Kat!” she exclaimed as she sent her forever feline out to the restroom so she could call Kyle secretly in peace.

“Kyle, it’s me, Adora.”

“Adora! How are you?!”

“Good. Anyways, Kyle, I don’t have a ton of time. I need you to ask Imp where he put the thing.”

“The thing?”

“Yes, Kyle, the THING.”

“Ohhh, the  _ thing _ ! Gimme one sec…  hey, hey Imp, buddy… do you happen to know where… no, not that… you sure?... oh ok I see… thanks pal ...He says it should be in plain view on the sink in the bathroom.”

Adora tensed up. 

“In  _ WHAT _ bathroom, Kyle?”

“Um, you know, that’s a good question… one sec again…  so, uh, which… why?... that doesn’t really make any sort of sense but ok _... _ Glimmer and Bow’s.”

She relaxed her muscles.

“Thank you, Kyle.”

She texted Bow again:

**_hey bo, go to ur bathroom and grab IT_ **

**_Imp put it there ig_ **

**_2nites the nite_ **

**_glimmer still doesn’t know right?_ **

**_want it 2 b a surprise to all_ **

**_Are you intentionally overusing abbreviations to bother me?_ **

**_mybe I am, mybe im not just answer the txts_ **

**_Ok, I’ll get it. And no, Glimmer does not know._ **

**_As far as I know, at least._ **

**_Purr-fect, thanks BOW_ **

**_You know you don’t need to make cat puns to everyone right?_ **

**_Fur-tunately for you, idc_ **

**_Ugh._ **

“Heyyy, Adora. What do you think?”

Adora looked up from her phone, and was absolutely stunned with what stood before her. Catra was still in that cute little outfit she decided to go with for the evening, and who could blame her? She looked drop dead gorgeous and extremely cute and precious in that outfit. But, she did not just brush her hair. She had made the executive decision to just let it all down and flowing. It was evident too that Catra had spent a decent portion of the time stylizing it too, as there was definitely a good amount of product in there to help stylize it to complete an absolutely stunning look that even managed to make Adora’s jaw drop, and Adora never played her hand when it came to how gorgeous she found Catra at any given moment.

“Marry me. Please. I’m begging you.”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. I’ll have to think about it and get back to ya.” Catra responded, unsure whether to chuckle to show her confidence and her enjoyment of Adora messing around, or to blush thinking about if she actually did look stunning enough to make even the good at bluffing Adora show her hand on the matter. She settled on a combination of the two.

“Um, also, Adora… I think  Rogelio clogged our toilet again. We really gotta stop letting him use it, babe. Anyways, I really gotta use it so I’m gonna go over and borrow Glimmer and Bow’s real quick and then we can go, ok love? Mermista just texted the chat saying tonight’s is a long one so we have plenty of time to get there before those two sea goofs. Be right back, sweetheart.”

“Ok baby, sounds go-wait no no no no no no no! Don’t worry, babe. I can fix it in a flash and it will be good as new.”

“Babe, no. It’s not a huge deal. Just because you love me and because She Ra can generate any tool required for any task doesn’t mean that you have to go and fi-”

“For the  _ honor _ of  _ GRAYSKULL _ !”

Catra could do nothing but just roll her eyes. “ _ Always  _ have to be the hero for everything, don’t you, Adora?” she said under her breath, smiling as her now larger soulmate was plunging away at the toilet, fixing it while Bow was fixing the problem created by that trouble maker Imp.

Soon enough, Adora would ask for what she desired most in her life. Tonight, in fact. And soon enough, she would find her answer as to if she could have it or not.


	2. Why?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After successfully comforting Adora, Catra's insecurities are now being brought to the forefront for our two lovers. With a history of incidents to back hers, can Adora help Catra as Catra helped Adora?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here we go into the first ever attempt at a multi-chapter story. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoyed writing it and planning it.
> 
> Enjoy!

Adora and Catra showed up to the ball, and like always, they were immediately the center of attention. “They” was a very loose term.  _ Adora _ was the center of attention as they walked through and said hello to all their friends. Catra, with this being her first formal princess ball that she had no intent to sabotage, of course was yet to be formally be introduced to many of the princesses of Etheria, and each one went the exact same.

“Oh… my… god… aren’t you SHE RA?” or something to that extent was exclaimed by the princess in question.

“Why yes, yes I am,” Adora would respond in a sarcastically heroic voice, which was then met by laughter from both princesses until one would notice Catra, which would then provoke an “Oh, and this is my girlfriend, Catra. Catra, this is [insert princess here].”

“Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Catra.” the princess would say.

This went on for a while with a slew of other guests. It was fine, even though it didn’t sit right with Catra, but everything was fine. She had Adora. Adora was hers. That’s all that mattered. But it kept going.

“Do the She Ra thing!” one princess shouted from a couple yards away.

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly do it. Here? For no reason? This isn’t even my ball, Scorpia should be the one getting all the attention this evening,” Adora kept insisting before realizing that it was Scorpia herself who had made the request.

“Alright, fine. Just one time since it’s your ball, Scopria. For the honor… OF GRAYSKULL”

And like always, with a flash the mythical woman warrior appeared again. And like always, everyone swooned over said mythical woman warrior. Catra eventually was pushed out of the circle as everyone huddled around She Ra to get a closer view. Catra had seen enough, it was time for some fresh air

Catra sat there, perched on the balcony, staring off into the vast beyond of the landscape of Etheria. 

_ Is this just a slow burning nightmare? Was this all a lie? Do I not have everything I ever have wanted? Has anything really changed at all? _

Time dragged by as Catra stayed perched on that balcony fence, leaving her to her own thoughts, which had always been her own demise. Five minutes that felt like three hours passed until another person finally joined her outside.

“Catra! My goodness, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” It was Adora.

“What does it matter to you where I am?”

“Catra...what...”

“I  _ said _ … **what** does it matter to you where I am? Clearly you were having the time of your life being the center of attention. I thought you would be tired of that by now, or at the very least try to change now that you have me, but yet again your focus is squarely on the others while I”m left in the background.”

“Catra, don’t be-”

“Don’t be what, Adora? Foolish? Trust me, it’s a little late for that. I’m already the fool for thinking things could be different, for thinking I could truly matter to you the way you matter to me. You always care about me, but you never  _ care _ about me. You’ll never put me over the others. I’ve always just been another friend to you, haven’t I? I’ll never be anything more to you, won’t I? That bond we shared that day was a heat of the moment feeling that faded, wasn’t it? It will never change, but I’m the fool who will continue to love you in spite of that. I can’t escape the feeling but I’ll never understand why. Why?  _ Why am I even HERE, Adora?! _ ”

_ Nothing had changed at all. _

********

It was Adora’s 6th birthday. 

Every Horde squadron is put together and planned at birth and they all meet each other when they all are 4 to maximize team chemistry to help maximize productivity, so Catra and Adora had known each other for about two years. It was extremely frowned upon to do anything out of the ordinary for a birthday for young Horde soldiers, save an acknowledgement of its existence and then a limited quantity of Horde ration bars. Catra didn’t care today. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something about Adora was special to her. She didn’t care for the others she was stuck with in her unit, but Adora was basically already her best friend, at least it felt like it. All their friends from Horde school always told her the two of them seemed practically inseparable. Catra liked the sound of that. Her and Adora, together forever. Never leaving each others’ sides. So, Catra defied the rules… again… this time to get a special gift for her BFF. She managed to find a few scrap materials laying about the Horde camp, and with some help managed to create a replica force captain badge. They weren’t old enough to determine the captain of their unit yet, but Adora seemed to love the idea of leading and helping people, so she thought making a fake badge for her would be absolutely adored by Adora, pun intended.

“Task Force Squadron #18573, please report to your locker room. It is time for the annual recognition of the anniversary of the birth of one of your members.”

_ It’s time. _

She slipped the badge in her pocket as she left her sleeping quarters.

“Heyyy Adora, happy birthday.”

“Catra! You’re just in time! I just convinced Shadow Weaver to let us have the grey bars for the celebration.”

“That’s amazing! Shadow Weaver would  _ never _ let me choose the flavor.”

“I know right! It surprised me too.”

Shadow Weaver had always shown a bias towards Adora ever since she was assigned as their teacher last year, but it didn’t bother her much, soon she’d show her skills and gain Shadow Weaver’s favor too.

“Hey, I got something for you later” Catra whispered with a wink.

Adora couldn’t hide her smile from the excitement.

“Catra, you really shouldn’t have… but if it’s from you, I’m sure I’ll absolutely treasure it.”

_ Yeah, she definitely felt the connection too. _

As is customary during a Horde birthday “acknowledgement”, the one whose birthday it was got a second bar and that was considered your “gift”. Adora, however, was not that hungry so she decided to give away her second bar.

“I know exactly who I want to give this to.” Adora declared, and while Catra was contemplating whether to accept the full bar immediately or see if Adora would still want half of it, Adora walked right over to Lonnie.

_ Lonnie? _

“Lonnie, would you want my other bar?”

_ LONNIE?! _

“Adora… I don’t know what to say… thank you.”

“NO!” Catra screamed as claws went flying towards Lonnie.

A few moments later, all anyone in the room could do is stand there in shock staring at Lonnie on the floor with a cut across her cheek and Catra visibly shaken by her own actions.

_ What have I done? _ was all that was running through Catra’s mind as she quickly scurried off to her typical hiding place. She ripped the badge out of her pocket and hurled it at the wall as hard as she could, watching it shatter to pieces.

_ What is the point anymore? she thought. I hate most of the people here. The people in charge don’t see anything in me yet. The only thing that makes me happy here probably hates me now, but what does that matter anyways? She probably likes Lonnie more than me anyways, probably thinks she’s way cooler or something. There’s nothing for me here. _

She slowly slumped into her hiding spot, succumbing to the pain and sadness, balling her eyes out.

“ _ Why am I even here? _ ”

********

Today  _ had _ to be the day. Everything just felt right. It was time.

Catra and Adora had known each other for a while now, and they had become the best of friends, at least it felt like that to Catra. But whether it was true or not didn’t matter to Catra. She had started to fall in love with Adora. She wasn’t sure why, but there was something captivating about her. Something about Adora drew her in and told her that she was the one she wanted as hers. And today was definitely the day to confess it. The stars seemed to be all aligned for this day with everything going right. Shadow Weaver, by some miracle of Lord Hordak, had said one or two positive things about her, which had raised her morale greatly even though she wasn’t sure why. Her and Adora had been spending even more time together lately than usual, which said a lot considering how much they typically hang out. And of course, today was already a special day that Adora  _ had _ to know about, it was-

“Catra!”

“Adora! Perfect timing. Hey, so, um… I was won-”

“Not right now Catra, ask me in a little bit. Today is probably one of the most important days of our lives...”

Catra blushed.  _ Maybe she… feels the same way? Maybe we have the same idea toda- _

“...it’s Force Captain announcement day!”

And there goes the blush.

“Oh… yeah, that…”

“What’s wrong, are you not excited?”

While it was true that Shadow Weaver had actually made some form of positive comments towards Catra on the rare occasion in the past month, it still was very clear that she was very biased towards Adora and against her. From the start, it was clear the only legitimate candidates from the group to become their Force Captain were Catra and Adora. And yes, it was true that at first, Catra had always blindly supported Adora to be Force Captain because she always seemed destined to lead. But, the last few years, she wasn’t so sure if she liked that destiny being forced. Shadow Weaver not only displayed her own bias, but very clearly was either setting up Adora to succeed, her to fail, or both. It wasn’t really Adora’s fault… was it? She couldn’t have noticed the bias, otherwise she would put a stop to it… right??

_ No, not today. Nothing can ruin today. _

“Nothing Adora, just got some stuff on my mind.”

“I think I know what you’re thinking about...”

_ What…? _

“...you’re trying to figure out the reality that I get to be your boss.” Adora said laughing.

“Don’t be so sure of yourself, Adora.” Catra responded with a playful shove and a forced smile.

A few hours passed until the group was summoned into the black garnet room. Shadow Weaver approached the unit.

“You all know why I summoned you here. It is your unit’s Force Captain announcement day. Normally, I would stand here for a few minutes and speak on each one of you and explain why each of you deserve the Force Captain title for your unit, but for this unit, me and Lord Hordak determined that there were only two candidates worth considering for the title of this unit, as I’m sure you all have seen yourselves. Catra and Adora, please step forward.”

They obliged.

“Catra, while we have had our... differences... in the years we’ve known each other, Lord Hordak did express he sees some form of potential for you for the grand plan of the Horde.”

_ At least Lord Hordak recognizes my talents. _

“And you, Adora, Lord Hordak sees potential in you for the fight as well, and I have seen many qualities and examples from you that show to me that you are a natural born leader of your team and know what to do to win on the battlefield.”

“Thank you Shadow Weaver, I’m honored to receive such compliments.”

“Now, with that being said, me and Lord Hordak did some deliberating and we determined which one of you shall become your unit’s Force Captain. Adora, congratulations.”

_ Shocker. _

“Oh wow… Shadow Weaver… I-”

“Here is your badge. Now, depart elsewhere, all of you.”

The team filed out of the room, and immediately swarmed Adora.

“Congrats!” shouted Kyle as Rogelio gave her a giant hug and Lonnie gave a fist bump. Everyone was so happy, everyone except Catra. Adora seemed to have noticed this and walked over to her cat companion.

“What’s wrong, Catra? Are you actually upset about not being Force Captain? If I knew it actually was a giant deal like this to you, I would’ve never made that joke. I’m so sor-”

“No Adora, don’t worry. Like I said earlier I just have some things on my mind.”

“You know you can tell me these things, right? After all, we are best friends.”

That last sentence cheered her up, she loved reassurance that Adora felt the same way… at least from a friend perspective.

“Alright, fine. So, with today being so special for the both of us, I decided today was a good day to express this fee-”

She was forced to cut herself off as Rogelio ripped Adora off the ground and threw her on his shoulders to parade her to the Horde cafeteria for what was inevitably going to be celebratory ration bars. Adora looked back and saw Catra just standing where they had been standing and urged her to come along and tell her what was on her mind.

“No it’s fine, it’s kinda private and I’m not that hungry. It’s fine, I’ll just tell you later.”

Catra walked all the way to their locker room and just sat on the bench for what felt like forever. Suddenly, a voice emerged from the distance.

“Catra! My goodness, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I ate as quickly as I could because I needed to hear what you had to say. Now, what is it Catra? What has been bothering you?”

“Ok… so, um… I’ve been waiting for a while to confess this. But, I decided today would be a good day to finally ask you, since it’s your Force Captain announcement day and… you know, my-”

“Adora!”

_ You have GOT to be KIDDING me. _

“Shadow Weaver, what is it?” Adora asked the red figure emerging from the darkness.

“Lord Hordak requests your presence at your earliest convenience, but remember he does not like to have his generosity be taken advantage of and have to wait too long.”

“Thank you Shadow Weaver, I will report there whenever it is the earliest convenience to both me and Lord Hordak.”

“Very well, congratulations again, Adora. We have high hopes for you.”

Shadow Weaver departed their presence, leaving behind the two friends trying to figure out what to do or say.

“So… what was that you were saying? About what today is and what you were feeling?” Adora finally asked

“Go.”

“Wha-”

“I said go, Adora. Trust me, from personal experiences you do NOT want to upset Lord Hordak. It’s not that important anyways, and I don’t feel that good. Just go see what Lord Hordak wants and go celebrate your day with the rest and we’ll just hang tomorrow.”

“Are… you sure? I really want to hel-”

“Yes Adora, trust me this advice is for your sake.”

“Ok, Catra. Hope you feel better soon.”

And with that, Adora ran off to see Lord Hordak and Catra ran off to her sleeping quarters. Once she got to her bed, she just laid there staring up at the ceiling thinking of the events of the day.

_ They’re grooming Adora for big things, bigger things than just Force Captain. They want to take Adora away… MY Adora away… She seems to be fighting it right now, but she can’t see the big plan. Her weakness has always been leading and helping people, she cares about EVERYONE that matters in some way to her. The more people to care about, the less she’ll be able to care about me, and soon enough I’ll just fade away to her, just like THEY want. _

The darker the night became, the darker her thoughts got. Was there anything here for her if she couldn’t have Adora, who had become everything to her? If not here, was there anywhere that she had anything? She had been scolded many times to stop crying over “trivial matters” ever since Imp caught her in her old hiding spot a few years ago. But, Imp was not allowed by any means into Horde soldiers’ quarters, so on the rare occasion where something strongly upset her, and today  _ definitely _ was one of those days, she allowed herself to release her emotions. She fought it for a while, but the longer she thought about it, the harder it was until she couldn’t hide it anymore and she began crying into her pillow.

“Why am I even HERE?!” is all she could scream out over and over until she passed out from the tears.

That is how Catra spent the rest of her 16th birthday.

********

“Don’t you get it, Adora? Whether it’s because of you or other forces, I’m not supposed to be yours. Life has made you care too much about too many people. You are the people’s leader. You have too many people to care about. You don’t have nearly enough time to put a friend like me over everyone else in the world… I’m always left wondering why-”

“Why you’re here? Whether it was why were you in the Horde or why you were in love with me? Catra… trust me if you knew the whole story, you’d know you aren’t an idiot for following your dreams and feelings, but in fact you were spot on for doing so. It was just horrible timing on the parts of others.”

“Wh-”

Adora had made the right decision to close the door to the balcony to reduce attention, this was probably about to get really emotional.

“That thing when I turned 6 and you hit Lonnie? Yeah, I gave Lonnie my extra one because I was being a good friend to more than just you. Yeah, I felt bad at the time that she didn’t get one for hers due to failing Horde History. But before you ran off, I was gonna share mine with you because there is no one I was ever or would ever share everything with more than you.”

Catra was sniffling already.

“And yes, I kept getting taken away the day I was named Force Captain. Sadly, I kind of expected that. But, my plan was if I was named Force Captain, I was going to get you named as the first Force Lieutenant of a unit in at least 35 years at that point, because there was no way I was leading without you, and that was the only thing I could think about giving you for your sweet 16 that came even close to what you truly deserved.”

“That’s great Adora, but the most important thing I wanted that day was to tell you that I lo-”

“Loved me? I know… well I didn’t know then obviously, but like another thing is I too had plans to confess my love to you that night at the celebratory dinner that I was invited to and was going to get you invited to as my Lieutenant. As for today, trust me, I want to reduce this whole She Ra nonsense for a little bit. I achieved the goal that She Ra is supposed to achieve after I saved Etheria. In fact, before I became consumed with figuring out where you scurried off to, I was gonna call you up on stage and implore that they relax on all the She Ra talk and show MY girlfriend more love and respect, as she deserves all of it. Sure, eventually I want to do what we talked about with Bow and Glimmer and go save other planets and stuff, but right now I want to relax and spend days, weeks, months even with you. Forever with you. So please...” Adora got down on both of her knees, “...please know I love you, only you, and no one else nearly as much as you.”

“No, you idiot!” Catra yelled, dropping on both of her own knees. “While I hate the thought of being so far below you, I would hate it even more if you thought I was above you.”

“So what can I do to make you the happiest you can be as you deserve to be, my love? Be equals?”

“Be mine, you idiot.” she laughed through the tears.

And after a tender kiss and a hug that felt like an eternity, they returned to the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok a couple things, first I know it's inconsistent of me to completely change a scene that was canonical (how Adora got to be Force Captain) in chapter 2 after keeping a scene as it was word for word (the dream) in chapter 1. Hopefully no one minds.
> 
> Secondly, this has nothing to do with the story but has to do with CatrAdora and I have no other forum to share so I figure why not here. "Don't Let Go (Love)" by Bastille is an extremely good song and VERY accurate and fitting lyrically for CatrAdora, just figured I'd share.
> 
> Lastly, this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter work as specified before, so any comments, critiques, kudos, thoughts, anything at all really would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the opening notes, this is my first time trying out fan fiction for this fanbase and ship (I really started to fall in love with this ship during S5), so I'm not really sure how this will be received. But, hopefully you all enjoyed it. I'm very good with criticism and compliments so if any of you have any thoughts both good or critiquing, go ahead and share them as I'm always looking to see if anyone likes my work or for ways to improve my work, and if you really liked it kudos would be much appreciated!


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